The “tampon tax” is the taxing of menstrual products as luxury items. This may not seem like a huge deal to some -after all, these products aren’t “necessary” for survival. Using that same mentality, are items such as hair growth cream and Viagra “necessary”? These items are all exempt from sales tax, while tampons and other menstrual products are not. While these items may fall under a different category, they are not considered “luxuries”, and therefore are not taxed. These items are most definitely voluntary. Getting a period is inevitable for so many U.S. citizens, yet it is still considered more of a luxury item than other non-necessary items used by men. This would suggest that there is some inequality when it comes to taxes, and this is why there is controversy surrounding this tax. There is no logical reason as to why an item that society deems necessary for the ability to access public space would be taxed - especially as a luxury item.

Luckily, steps are being taken to combat this issue. The Republican Governor of Florida, Rick Scott, just terminated the taxing of tampons as luxury items. This will go into effect in January of 2018. Furthermore, there will also be more tax breaks on other items, such as those used for storm preparation. Thirteen states (and Washington D.C.) no longer have the tampon tax, and hopefully, this number will increase in the future.